Is Beekeeping for you?

Episode 1 - Is Beekeeping for You?

People from all walks of life become beekeepers. City dwellers, suburbanites, weekend farmers, and country folk can enjoy and benefit from bees. The young, young at heart, and those in between all can keep bees. It used to be that 'grandpa' was the beekeeper in the family. Today sisters, daughters, mothers, wives are taking up the hive tool more then ever before. Our "tongue in cheek" films focus on Skip, a city dweller with little country experience, whose daughter would like a bee hive... and he is willing to give it a try... well maybe! He heads to the farm and 'meets the Weavers,' and before you know it he is seriously thinking that bees aren't such a crazy idea after all. No matter who you are, or how little you know about bees, you can successfully manage a bee colony.

Transcript

Skip: How are you doing? Well, I'm here because my daughter wanted a pet. And you know most kids want dogs or cats, but she wanted bees.

Laura: Wow. Well, that's great because bees are the easiest and most beneficial pets you can own.

Skip: Well that's good because it didn't work out too well with that goldfish.

Laura: Bees are self-sufficient, and once start-up is done, maintenance cost is very low. You can breed and expand your colonies. They are the great pollinators of nature, and they produce something you can eat and sell. Bees can do a lot for you, Skip.

Skip: Bees can do a lot for me?

Laura: Sure. They're fun to watch, and they're great for the environment. They help maintain diversity in flora as well as pollinate our crops.

Skip: Crops need to be pollinated? I thought they just grew?

Laura: They can also make a great sideline business.

Skip: You can make money with bees?

Laura: Sure. You can sell the honey, sell the wax, and rent your bees to farmers to pollinate crops.

Skip: Nice. Sounds like college fund.

Laura: [telephone ringing] Oh. I've got to go get that. You can go on down to the bees and take a look at them for yourself and I'll be right there.

Skip: By myself? Or . . . Hello? Hello? Are you the bee weaver?

Binford: Well, I'm Binford Weaver.

Skip: Hi, I'm Skip.

Binford: Good to meet you Skip. I understand you might be interested in becoming a beekeeper?

Skip: Well yeah, I've been learning about the benefits.

Binford: We need more people interested in beekeeping because bees are so important to our whole environment.

Skip: In what way?

Binford: We wouldn't have all of our fruits and vegetables without insect pollination, and that mainly means honey bees.

Skip: So how did you get started?

Binford: My grandparents got 10 hives of bees for a wedding present back in 1888, and we've moved a long ways since then. They lived about a 100 yards from here. But the Weavers have been in beekeeping ever since.

Skip: Wow.

Binford: So it's something that will really, I think, keep your interest, and they're fascinating.

Skip: Well, that sounds great. Thanks very much.

Laura: Hey, Skip. Sorry about that.

Skip: Oh, it's okay.

Laura: Ready to get started?

Skip: Yeah. Actually, I've been learning a lot from . . . he was right . . .